Michael Phelps swims the 200 butterfly preliminary yesterday on the first day of the
Missouri Grand Prix. Phelpsí 1:55.26 was the fastest in the event.

The stars came out last night at the Mizzou Aquatics Center as some of the worldís elite swimmers splashed through the first preliminary session of the Missouri Grand Prix. The second annual four-day event welcomed more than 600 swimmers into town, and with the Olympic Trials and Beijing Summer Olympics on the horizon, the competition in the pool surpassed the intensity of last yearís inaugural event.

"Without a doubt. The guysí side is very competitive," said Michael Phelps, the eight-time Olympic medalist who electrified last yearís Missouri Grand Prix with a world-record-breaking performance. "Itís good because everyone knows how important this year is. It brings the best out of everybody when weíre able to race at the level weíre racing at here."

Wearing Speedoís brand new NASA-engineered LZR Racer bodysuit, Phelps experienced the strength of the eventís first session in his only event of the night. In the final heat of the menís 200-meter butterfly - the same event in which he broke his own world record here last February - Phelps swam nearly stride for stride with Dan Madwed heading into the final turn. Then Phelps found another gear. He cruised ahead on the final 50-meter stretch and touched the wall at 1 minute, 55.26 seconds, nowhere near his latest world-record time (1:52.09) but satisfying enough considering the circumstances.

Last October, Phelps broke his right wrist falling out of his car, an injury thatís left a purplish scar - not to mention some lingering doubts surrounding his quest for eight gold medals in China. Judging by last nightís outing, Phelps hasnít lost his stroke.

"Tonight, I wanted to treat it just like itís a prelim session," he said. "Just go in, swim controlled and try to get whatever mistakes Iím going to make out of the way and prepare myself for tomorrow morningís finals."

Like many swimmers this weekend, the Missouri Grand Prix is the first long-course event Phelps has tackled this year. That was good news for the 22-year-old, perhaps bad news for the rest of the field.

"I like racing long course," Phelps said of the 50-meter lane setup. "Itís better for me because it means less walls. Iím not good with the turns. So, being able to get that event under the belt starting the meet off, Iím pretty confident."

Phelps, who won six golds and two bronze medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, didnít shy from saying he hopes to top last yearís record-setting day in Columbia.

"My goal is to be faster than I was here last year," he said. "It hasnít been my most successful, my most easygoing year. So, to be able to get back to a faster time than I went last year at this meet, it clearly shows that Iím headed in the right direction and that Iím taking the right steps.

"I havenít had the best training and had a few hiccups in the road with my wrist. But I seem to be swimming well."

Undoubtedly, but maybe not as well as Matt Grevers, a less-heralded national team swimmer who last night took a step toward joining Phelps and others in Beijing. Two heats after Cesar Cielo broke the pool and meet record in the menís 100 freestyle, Grevers topped the mark, finishing in a personal-best time of 48.59 seconds.

The 22-year-old former NCAA champion at Northwestern capped his night with a strong showing in the 200 backstroke, finishing in 2:00.22, second only to former world-record holder Aaron Peirsol.

"Thereís a lot of pressure to go as fast as you can in the 100 free to put yourself up as a name to make the Olympic team," Grevers said. "Tonight, I think thatís what I did. I kind of put myself on the ladder and said, ĎHey, ĎIím out here.í And now I have a chance to make that team."

Like Phelps, Grevers was debuting new swimwear, too: the TYR Sport Tracer Light.

"Iíve been feeling really good in practice, but these new TYR suits are so fast," he said. "I thought I could maybe go somewhere around that - not a 48.5, but I thought I might be able to break 49."

Another pool and meet record fell in the womenís 200 backstroke when Kirsty Coventry of Longhorn Aquatics broke last yearís standard by nearly 7 seconds, finishing in 2:08.89.

Other top finishers in the prelim races included five-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin (100 freestyle), Toyota Grand Prix points leader Mary Descenza (200 butterfly) and Katie Hoff, who broke her 2007 pool and meet records in the 400 freestyle and came less than a second short of breaking Janet Evansí 20-yeard old American record in the event, finishing in 4:04.44. Erik Vendt also set the pool and meet record in the menís 400, finishing in 3:46.39.